Halloween a bit of history!!

The word “Halloween” has its origins in the Catholic Church. It comes from a contracted corruption of All Hallows Eve. All Hallows Day, or All Saint´s Day, November 1, is a Catholic day of observance in honor of the saints.
But in the 5th century BC, in Celtic Ireland, summer officially ended on October 31. The legend says that, on that day, the spirits of all those who had died throughout the preceding year would come back in search of living bodies to possess for the next year. Naturally, the still-living did not want to be possessed. So on the night of October 31, villagers would extinguish the fires in their homes to make them cold and undesirable. They would then dress up in all manner of ghoulish costumes and noisily parade around the neighbourhood, being as destructive as possible in order to frighten away spirits looking for bodies to possess.
The custom of Halloween was brought to America in the 1840´s by Irish immigrants. The custom of trick-or-treating is thought to have originated not with the Irish Celts, but with a ninth-century European custom called souling. On November 2, All Souls Days, early Christians would walk from village to village begging for “soul cakes”, made out of square pieces of bread with currants. The more soul cakes the beggars received, the more prayers they promised to say on behalf of the dead relatives of the donors.
The Jack-o-lantern custom probably comes from Irish folklore. As the tale is told, a man named Jack, who was notorious as a drunkard and trickster, tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved an image of a cross on the tree trunk, trapping the devil up the tree. Jack made a deal with the devil: if he never tempted him again, he would let him down the tree.
According to the folk tale, after Jack died, he was denied entrance to Heaven because of his evil ways, but he was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the devil. Instead, the devil gave him a single ember to light his way through the frigid darkness. The ember was placed inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing longer.
The Irish originally used turnips as their “Jack´s lanterns”. But when the immigrants came to America, they found that pumpkins were far more plentiful than turnips. So the jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.-

Un Destello en la Penumbra

¡Uf! Me la paso leyendo historias de miedo que te ponen los pelos de punta. Antes ni las entendia porque vienen con palabras mas raras.. ¡Uf!Para decir “casa”, nunca dicen “casa”.. dicen “lúgubre mansión”.Para decir viejita, dicen anciana decrepita. Para decir lombriz, dicen gusano viscoso.Todo así. Hay rostros que se transfiguran, hay manos esqueleticas, uñas curvas y por todos lados aparecen luces fantasmales, cuchillos que destellan y siluetas siniestras que se deslizan.
¡Yo que se! De tanto leer historias de miedo, al final me fui poniendo practica con las palabras y justo a mi me tiene que pasar lo de la tia.
Es una tia de mi mama que se vino a mi casa porque andaba un poco enferma. Yo ni la conocia, pero tuve que dar el beso y ¡fffs! La cara era huesuda. Para el colmo habla poco y tiene unos ojos ¡verdes! Como electricos.
Yo la empece a vigilar.
Vi que a la noche sacaba un frasco y se tomaba treinta gotas después de comer. Desconfie mas.
A la mañana se levantaba amarilla y descompuesta y no se entendia por que, con lo que comia. Habia que tratarla como si se fuera a romper. Se reia para un costado, justo del lado donde tenia el diente negro.
Aplastaba el zapallo hervido, le daba algun mordisco al pollo, apenas probaba la compota.
-¡Ay, ese higado! – decia mi mama y la tia arqueaba las cejas, estudiandonos con sus ojos electricos.Despues se iba a su cuarto sin mirar para atrás.
-¡No tomo las gotas!- decia yo, pero ella no se daba vuelta.
-cada vez mas sorda,pobre…- decia mi mama-.Llevaselas al dormitorio.
¿Yo?? Ni loca entraba ahí. La alcanzaba en el pasillo.
-¡Ah!...mis gotitas – decia ella y el rostro se le transfiguraba.Era una mueca horrenda que me hacia transpirar. El diente negro me daba espanto.Y no me podia dormir.
Una noche oí deslizarse pasos hacia la cocina. Eran sus pasos, inconfundibles. Un ruido apagado de puerta que se abre. Pero ¿Cuál?.. distingui una claridad tenue. Me sente en la cama.¿De donde venia esa luz? Oi el roce de un cajon alabrirse. Otros ruidos que no reconocia. Yo apretaba las sabanas con las manos frias.Despues, los pasos que volvieron. Y silencio.
A la mañana siguiente, la tia mas descompuesta, mas palida, mas amarilla.
-¡Si no come nada!- decia mi mama
-Aja!- decia mi papa
- Ajamm!- decia el doctor
La tia cenaba un caldito, tomaba las gotas y vuelta a la cama. Cada vez mas flaca. La cara hundida.las ojeras
Nos ivamos a acostar y, al rato, las pisadas, la luz,los ruidos, el silencio.
Durante varias noches paso lo mismo y, a la mañana, la tia mas enferma.
Tuve que juntar mucho coraje para espiar, pero lo hice.Si que lo hice. Espere a oirla deslizarse por el pasillo de la lugubre mansión y me levante.
Me temblaban las rodillas.
Sus pasos llegaron a la cocina. Yo me pegue a la puerta entreabierta y vi como su mano se espectro abrio la heladera. El sitio se ilumino apenas. Claridad fantasmal.Vi los respaldos de las sillas, la panera sobre la mesa y la silueta de la anciana decrepita que saco de la heladera un envoltorio de bordes rectos. Mi estomago era un revoltijo de gusanos viscosos.
Transaparente como una aparicion, ella deslizo su mano huesuda por la mesada y abrio el primer cajon. La mano entro y salio. Empuñaba un cuchillo que destello en la penumbra.Me tape la boca con las dos manos. Mi sangre se helaba. La silueta siniestra giro ,cuchillo en mano,hacia la mesa.
Con sus dedos esqueleticos de uñas curvas desenvolvió lentamente el paquete, levanto el cuchillo en direccion a la panera…Yse puso a comer pan con manteca hasta las 3 de la mañana
-¡asi no hay higado que aguante!- dijo mi mama cuando le conte.
Iris Rivera

Readerella

This beautiful girl promises her mother to be good and brave, to exercise every day and read interesting stories about faraway countries.
“Keep healthy in mind and body,” her mother says.
After her mother dies,she exercises every day and reads interesting stories about faraway countries. She has to be healthy in mind and body.

Very soon her father gets married to a plump ugly lady, as plump and ugly as a pig in a bun.She has two skinny ugly daugthers, as skinny and ugly as sticks in silk. The worry about their hair and dresses and they always laugh at the beautiful girl because she reads interesting stories about faraway countries. They are very cruel and they call her Readerella.

Poor beautiful girl!!She cleans the floors, washes the clothes of all the family, removes the ashes from the fireplace, lights the fire, and carrries water from the river.
Her clothes are dirtier and older now, but she is happy because she exercises a lot and reads interesting stories about faraway countries.

The Prince is looking for a healthy intelligent princess.The King organises a marathon and invites all the girls of the kingdom.Readerella’s skinny ugly stepsisters prepare for the competition.
Is Readerella going to run in the marathon?
Of coures, she is!!! Her Fairy Godmother appears and with a touch of her wand, she turns a coat hunger into the fastest bicycle ever. She gives Readerella the nicest outfit and the most modern running shoes, too.
“Come back right after the marathon!” Fairy Godmother says, “Your bicycle is going to turn into a coat hanger again!”

As fast as a hare, Readerella gets to the castle riding the fastest bicycle ever. She is really fit and healthier and more intelligent than her skinny ugly stepsisters.She wins the competition without any effort. Before she comes back, she drops a running shoe! There is no time to pick it up, so Readerella rides back to her house before the fastest bicycle ever turns into a coat hanger again.

The Prince is looking for the healthiest and the most intelligent princess. He has got her running shoe. When he knocks at the door, Readerella’s skinny ugly stepsisters want to put the shoe on, but it does no fit.
Readerella puts it on very easily and shows the prince the other shoe. She is the healthiest and the most intelligent princess in the kingdom.
The Prince and Readerella get marrid and live happily ever after and.... What about her plump ugly stepmother and her skinny ugly stepsisters? They are doing gym now!!!


THE END